Polk R200 stands and placement

copydex · January 25

Hi all, new Polk forum member and first time Polk owner having just bought some new R200 AE speakers for our music room.

I have only just received them and am looking for suggestions on some options of types of stands to place them on, with a top plate large enough to support them and a base big enough to avoid them toppling over. Also, can I ask other owners of the R200/R200AE, how far away are the rear of the cabinets from the wall in your set up?

I have given them a brief listen sat on some bar stools (they sound great!) and am itching to get them properly installed (unfortunately I can't use bar stools permanently).

Thanks for your advice!

heiney9 · January 25

Hello and Welcome.

I bought these for my R200's and they are a great stand. I did also buy the larger top plates since the R200's are so deep. But, those may not be totally necessary.

https://www.audioadvisor.com/demo-pgds200-28?sku=DEMO-PGDS200-28

https://www.audioadvisor.com/new-pglstp?sku=NEW-PGLSTP

Mine were demo's also and they were like new.

My R200's have been in a smaller room and now a larger room. In my experience in a smaller room they need to be farther out in the room. Like 1.5' to 2.0'. In a larger room they should be closer to the back wall, closer to a foot off the wall. You'll need to experiment a bit. Toed in is better too.

Enjoy

H9

mhardy6647 · January 25

I use a pair of Altec Santiagos as the stands for mine.

copydex · January 25

Many thanks for your replies and tips, much appreciated. I like the idea of the Altecs as stands but, alas, space is a bit limited

. I should have said that I am in the UK so will have to find some here, the linked to stands look good so will do a search for something similar over here.

F1nut · January 25

I've seen a lot of nice stands on UK sites, so you shouldn't have a problem finding some. That said, it's important to buy stands that can be mass loaded, which rules out wooden stands.

with a top plate large enough to support them and a base big enough to avoid them toppling over

Wrong criteria. A smaller top plate will still support the speakers and a large base will not prevent toppling.

copydex · January 26

Thanks for the replies/advice. I do have a stand option here already which I haven't tried yet, some quite unusual ones with three upright legs that eschew a top plate altogether in favour of upwards facing spikes, with the base plates of the stands being large (~38cm) roughly equilateral triangles of two layers of 5mm cut steel separated with carbon fibre spacers. The three upright legs are steel lined carbon fibre tubes, though only spaced about 12.5cm apart centre to centre, which seems a little tight for the 32cm cabinet depth of the R200. I would use some additional carbon fibre spacers with centre locating points for the spikes to sit into and lightly attach to the underside of the cabinets, rather than spike directly into the cabinets themselves (which I can't bring myself to do on brand new speakers).

I am sure they would be fine were it not for our somewhat excitable dog, plus the position of one speaker which is quite near a doorway/thoroughfare through the room (so plenty of chances for the speakers to be bumped into. Something to consider/try anyway, I just need to dig the box out and put the stands back together.

Again, thanks for the advice.

heiney9 · January 26

On the top plate issue. The larger top plate is 3" longer at 6" x 9". The R200's depth is 13". They are a better fit, but certainly not necessary. Some speaker stands, like my Rockville stands for the ES20's upstairs come with both top plate sizes.

You don't want the photo above....lol

H9

JayMX · January 26

I built a set of stands for mine.
The dimensions and details are listed in my brag post if you want em.

https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/196919/custom-stands-for-my-r200-s

copydex · January 26

Those DIY ones look excellent, great job on the build and finish on them as they are really nicely done. Far beyond my skills (and available workshop tools!) unfortunately, I imagine my attempts would end up looking very shabby.

I have found some from Custom Design here in the UK, their model FS-104 with the 'XL' top plate which measures 7.5" x 9.5" (baseplate measures 9.5" x 12.5"), so a pretty decent match in terms of size and they can be mass loaded too. There are some not too far away from me which are available s/hand that I will keep an eye on, if the carbon fibre and steel stands I already have turn out to be unsuitable.

billbillw · January 26

Is Monoprice.com an option in the UK? If so, I've been very happy with a pair of their Monolith stands (24” height) for my R200. The metal legs would ring with a tap until I loaded them with aquarium gravel. After the gravel, they are heavy, stable, and give a thump instead of a ring when tapped.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=24794

F1nut · January 26

The Custom Design FS-104 is one of the UK stands I was referring to as a very good choice.

F1nut · January 26

This is another, which can be mass loaded to the point (43kg/93lbs. each) that it would take a serious effort to knock over.
https://www.zouchaudio.co.uk/speakers-c62/speaker-stands-c120/atacama-hms-2x-600-speaker-stands-p2383

Edit: I have some Skylan stands, each mass loaded with 70+ lbs. of a lead shot/sand mix. They are not getting knocked over.

copydex · January 28

I had a look and Monoprice is available in the UK...at a price. They look good but have to imported from the US which makes them less attractive in comparison to what is already here. Another option I have here are some Target ones, plentiful on the used market so will add those to the list to keep a look out for.

Thanks again for all the replies and suggestions, plenty of food for thought.

billbillw · January 28

Target stands from the UK are also excellent! I used to have a saved search for one of their sets, but they are somewhat rare in the States.

treitz3 · January 28

Target MR Maximum Rigidity stands are what I use for my subs. For reference, each sub is approximately 2'x3'x2'depth. These things are stout. Not cheap, but they would be the last stand you would ever need. They must weigh in at over 80 plus estimated pounds each when filled. They do not move and are rock solid. FWIW.

Tom

billbillw · January 28

treitz3 wrote: »

Target MR Maximum Rigidity stands are what I use for my subs. For reference, each sub is approximately 2'x3'x2'depth. These things are stout. Not cheap, but they would be the last stand you would ever need. They must weigh in at over 80 plus estimated pounds each when filled. They do not move and are rock solid. FWIW.

Tom

Yep, the MR24 is the set I was looking for, or maybe it was the HR24? I seem to recall Target had a set that was welded together and didn't use fasteners to connect the columns. Its been years. I remember a used set that came in my saved search down in Florida, but they didn't offer shipping. I was going to grab them on a visit to my snowbird parents, but they sold before I could make the trip.

Braddles63 · January 29

https://www.zouchaudio.co.uk/speakers-c62/speaker-stands-c120/atacama-nexxus-600-hifi-audio-speaker-stands-p4610

I have my R200AE on a set of stands the look similar these. I have sand filled them.

copydex · January 29

Thanks, they look great on those. I've been keeping a look out for some Nexxus Pro stands so I can max out the loading plus they also have an option for a larger top plate. How do you have your speakers sitting on the top plates, are you using the little gel pads?

Braddles63 · January 29

I left the original hard pads on the top plate and added Blu Tack x 4 as well

copydex · January 30

Thanks, sounds sensible.

Got the stands I already own out and re-built yesterday, and have now got the speakers situated on them in our room. I decided to cut a small (~16cm wide x 20cm deep x 5mm thick) piece of fibre board for each speaker, which I attached with a few small blobs of blu tak to the underside of each speaker cabinet. This has enabled me to use the stands with their upward facing spikes directly into the attached fibre board and not damage the cabinets themselves though still keep them nice and secure on top of the stands. I hope to attach a couple of pictures to show them as they are, one taken to show the speaker on top of the stand and the other to show that there definitely three legs and that the speaker is not immediately about to topple off to the side. They sound fantastic now, partly I think because they are now at a better height than on the stools and also because I have been better able to play with toe in/positioning a bit more.

I will continue to keep an eye on other stands to get but for now these are doing sterling work and are actually surprisingly stable. Thanks again for all the advice.

copydex · February 2

Some Custom Design RS304 (similar to the Atacama HMS ones) have now arrived in the house, just awaiting some ballast to add to the four large column uprights and I'm good to go.

Thanks all!

F1nut · February 2

The RS304 is a nice looking stand.

copydex · February 7

The RS304 are now loaded with about 12.5kg (27.5lbs) of kiln dried sand per stand, bringing total weight of stands up to 24.5kg (54lbs) each. Nice and stable, with the top plate being an exact width to the speaker cabinets so no visible top plate to the sides

. Sounding great, job done.

Polk R200 stands and placement

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